What is Reddit's opinion of Simplify3D?

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Personally, I would go for a few "intermediate" printers. If they are art students who just want to be able to print without much fuss, you may want to go with a brand that that has polished (watered down) software, or consider purchasing simplify3D licenses. You also need to consider if build volume or range of materials is more important or if you'll need dual extruders.

Adding my voice so you don't think /u/Nuts-n-Bolts is biased. Simplify3D absolutely is all those things and has pretty much become the only piece of 3D printing software I use (aside from my CAD package). Rather than give you an itemized list of features that are on their website, I'll just say that my prints are more accurate and clean using S3D than they ever were with Slic3r. The generated toolpaths are much smarter and the breakaway support material actually breaks away. Part dimensions also seem more accurate as I can typically hit +/- 0.05mm on things I design and print on my M2.

Question though, does Simplify3D support Smoothie? On their website they say:

>"We’re constantly working with new hardware companies to expand this list. We support the Marlin, Sprinter, Repetier, Sailfish and MakerBot firmwares out-of-the-box, which covers the vast majority of desktop 3D printers."

If compatible, I'd say it's worth the money just in the time I've saved. Fewer failed prints and the ability to catch problems in the visualizer before the job is even sent to the printer.

Simplify3D allows the user to interactively place support material: http://www.simplify3d.com

Bad news is its not free.

I haven't used it personally, but many people swear by it. Hit up the Makerbot Operators google group, you should find many recommendations for it. edit: I missed the part about exporting support as STL. I don't think Simplify3d offers this, only modification of support placement for g-code generation. People use S3D as their primary slicer. Its considered as good as, if not better than, Kisslicer and Makerware.

http://www.simplify3d.com/software/supported-printers/

That shows the supported printers. As far as speed for slicing goes, it's significantly faster. A piece that took me 15 minutes to slice with Slic3r took about 10 seconds using Simplify3d.

I see corner lift on the right side in your first three photos. Print with brim or mouse ears.

Under the Layer tab in Simplify 3d there's the option to set first layer height, this is a % of your standard layer height. The default value for me was 90%, I changed it to 150% and got much better results without having to change my bed at all.

http://www.simplify3d.com/support/tutorials/

I recommend looking at their tutorial for printing the first layer, I found it pretty helpful.

I use it as my main slicer now. Slic3r does have some features that s3d does not, and I don't think s3d is a giant quantum leap in sophistication, but there are useful features. Unfortunately one problem I'm having with s3d is when I use this seam function and slice perfect cylinders, the starting points are slightly misaligned. I believe this is because there's some sort of estimation going on. With cylinders, slic3r and the aligned seam setting gives me better results. With anything else that has a corner our convex point, the xy coordinate feature works great. You can have different slice settings (called processes in s3d) for each part on your build plate. http://www.simplify3d.com/support/tutorials/multi-part-printing/

The best/easiest thing to do is set you first layer height to between 200%-300%, it is a lot more forgiving. This can be easily done in Simplify3D, I'm not sure about other software.
But to answer your question: Sitall Glass,
Big thanks to /u/Fastnate for the research below:
> It looks like aluminum has a linear coefficient of expansion of about 12.3. Whereas glass has a value of about 5. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html
> In researching these values I discovered this special glass "Sitall" which has a value of .08. http://www.unique-3d.com/#!products/ctv1
>

I am using 375mm (14.75") which is what they list on the website.

>• Over 1300 cubic inches of build volume (11" Diameter by over 14 3/4" height)

Also, its a tad pricey but I highly recommend you pick up Simplify3d. My world changed so much for the better when I took the plunge. Can't even imagine going back to mattercontrol, repetier, slic3r etc.

http://www.simplify3d.com

I'm currently using Simplify3D instead of Makerbot Desktop. It costs money, but has much more control and is very easy to use. Seems more reliable than MB Desktop as well.

Of course if paying for software is not in your plans, ReplicatorG works fine and provides detailed control of the printer settings, but you'll have some learning to do.

My prints where done with the Creator pro not the creator 2. This One: http://www.the3dprinter.com.au/collections/3d-printers/products/flashforge-creator-ii-3d-printer So its only $50 difference in price.

The dreamer and pro have basically the same hardware except the pro is open source and the dreamer is not. I went for the pro because I like to tinker and upgrade stuff so open source was a must for me.

The Dreamer sounds perfect for you because you just want to take it out of the box and start using it. Dreamer also has a touch-screen LCD and can print via WiFi which the pro does not have, But I recommend using a SD card for your prints. You would hate to be halfway through an 8 hour print only to have your PC crash or restart to install an update or even just a WiFi drop-out which would totally bugger up your print.

Once you get the Dreamer up and running prepare yourself to spend a week or two tweaking settings to get the prints coming out how you want them too, There is still a big learning curve to 3D printing (As modzer0 has pointed out). Took me a good 2 weeks to be happy with the quality of my prints.

I also recommend using the Simplify3D software. http://www.simplify3d.com/ It even has pre-set settings for Flashforge printers but it does cost $140 and they don't offer a 30 day trial or anything. I took the plunge and have never looked back tho.

Happy Printing.

Do you have a big solid block as your bottom layer(s)? those can be tough. Try printing it with a raft. That might help.

Here's more explanation on rafts: http://www.simplify3d.com/support/tutorials/rafts-skirts-and-brims/

You say you used a raft here but have you considered using the raft feature built into Simplify3D? It tends to work a lot better than making one yourself and defining thickness.